In a pioneering step to develop the Palestinian agricultural sector, the Ministry of Agriculture and the Arab Development Society (ADS) signed a cooperation agreement to establish the Palestinian Center for Agricultural Technology Transfer. The ceremony was attended by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and overseen by Minister of Agriculture, Prof. Rizk Salimiyya, along with representatives of the unions and partner entities.
During the signing ceremony, Minister Salimiyya emphasized that the center will serve as a leading scientific beacon in the Palestinian agricultural sector, facilitating the transfer of knowledge and modern technology to enhance productivity and competitiveness. He also noted the vital partnership with the Agricultural Engineers Union and the Veterinary Doctors Union, and stressed that the ministry would provide full support to ADS to ensure the success of this pioneering project, which is expected to benefit farmers, engineers, veterinarians, and various agricultural institutions.
Chairman of the Board of ADS, Mr. Fawzi Shaaban, expressed his appreciation for Minister Salimiyya’s vision and commitment to reviving this historic project—whose origins date back to 1945. He underscored that this partnership represents a significant leap forward in reactivating the society’s role in serving agricultural development and rural communities.
Eng. Ali Badarna, Head of the Food Security and Food Systems Unit at UNIDO, stated that the establishment of this center represents a successful model for unifying the efforts of partners from the public and private sectors as well as civil society. He added that the center is expected to trigger a radical transformation in the Palestinian agricultural sector through the adoption of the latest technologies and capacity building.
The center will operate on six strategic axes: Technology Transfer, Technology Display, Knowledge Exchange, Capacity Building, Facilitating Access to Finance, and Advocacy for Supportive Policies. It will also offer intensive training programs for agricultural engineers, veterinary doctors, and farmers, with its headquarters located at ADS.
It is noteworthy that this agreement is the culmination of previous meetings between Minister Salimiyya and Mr. Gunther Beger, Director General of Innovation and Economic Transformation at UNIDO. These discussions, held on the sidelines of the Food and Agriculture Conference in Berlin during the first month of the current year—and followed by the adoption of a roadmap for establishing the center in the following month—have now paved the way for the initial implementation stage marked by this agreement.
The signing took place at the Minister’s office at the Ministry headquarters in Ramallah, in the presence of Deputy Minister Eng. Badr Al-Hawamdeh; Director General of the General Administration for Planning and Policies Eng. Hassan Al-Ashqar; Projects Management Unit Director Eng. Maram Sawaleh; Projects Promotion Department Director Eng. Laila Ziad; along with ADS Director General Eng. Omar Basharat and Project Treasurer Mr. Ahmed Abu Khadra.
The agreement was signed on behalf of the Ministry of Agriculture by Deputy Minister Al-Hawamdeh, and on behalf of ADS by Chairman Mr. Fawzi Shaaban.
